Pilot Survey for 2016 Population By-census to commence

Published date: 24 June 2015

The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) will conduct a pilot survey from June 30 to August 2, 2015, aiming to test the questionnaire design and operational arrangements for the 2016 Population By-census to be launched in mid-2016.

A spokesman for the C&SD said today (June 24), “The population by-census is a large-scale and important statistical exercise. The pilot survey will help test various aspects of the operation in advance so that we are able to introduce any necessary enhancements in good time before the by-census officially launches in 2016.”

The spokesman added, “To tie in with the current lifestyle of Hong Kong people and to promote environmental protection, a multi-modal, paperless data collection approach will be adopted for the pilot survey.”

The pilot survey will cover some 3 000 units of quarters in four selected District Council districts, namely Eastern, Sham Shui Po, Yau Tsim Mong and Yuen Long. The department will send out letters today to inform households in the sampled units of quarters that they have been selected for the pilot survey. All households and people staying in the sampled units of quarters will be enumerated.

Starting from June 30, 2015, respondents of the selected units of quarters may complete their electronic questionnaires online or using the e-Questionnaire mobile app. From July 16 to August 2, 2015, the department will arrange for census officers to visit households that have not yet completed their electronic questionnaires and the officers will use mobile tablets to collect the requested information. Each census officer will carry a Government/Enumerator Identity Card and a certificate issued by the C&SD for conducting the survey. Households are reminded to check carefully the identity of census officers before admitting them to their premises. In case of doubt, households may call the 2016 Population By-census Telephone Enquiry Centre at 2920 2016.

The spokesman reiterated that information on individuals and households collected in the pilot survey will be kept in strict confidence and will not be released to any unauthorised parties, including government departments, adding that all questionnaires will be destroyed within 12 months after the survey has been completed.

It is an established practice for Hong Kong to conduct a population census every 10 years and a by-census in the middle of the intercensal period. The aim is to obtain up-to-date benchmark information on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the Hong Kong population and on its geographical distribution. Such information is vital to the Government for planning and policy formulation, and the private sector and academia for business and research purposes.

A by-census differs from a census in that the former does not have a complete head count of the population, but collects detailed characteristics from a larger sample of the population. It will then project the size and the characteristics of the entire population from the sample results in accordance with appropriate statistical theory.